Throughout music history composers have been influenced by traditional
music. Telemann, for instance, heard Polish music in the early stages
of his career and incorporated elements of it in his compositions. Domenico
Scarlatti lived and worked most of his life in Spain, and it is often
noted that his keyboard sonatas show the influence of Spanish traditional
music. That comes to the fore, for instance, in the percussionistic elements
in many sonatas. However, exactly which music influenced him is much harder
to establish. This disc is an interesting attempt to shed light on another
influence: that of traditional Neapolitan music.

Domenico was born in Naples as the son of Alessandro who at the time was
maestro di cappella of the royal chapel. He held this post until
1702 which means that Domenico must have heard Neapolitan music during
his formative years. It is almost inevitable that this had considerable
influence on his development as a composer.

This disc mixes specimens of Neapolitan vocal music with keyboard sonatas.
Some of the vocal items belong to the category of traditional music. The
tarantella in particular is characteristic of Neapolitan music
- a folkdance in 3/8 or 6/8 rhythm. A specimen of such a tarantella is
Lo guarracino, in 19 stanzas telling a story about a fish that
wants to marry. This is all metaphorical and has a clear satirical character.
It is just a shame that the text - in Neapolitan dialect - is only translated
into Italian and not into English. In regard to the influence of such
songs on Scarlatti's music, that is much more a matter of rhythm
and affetti than of melody. The liner-notes give no information
about the dates of the traditional songs anyway. In the case of Lo
guarracino it is merely said that it was one of the most popular
tarantellas of the 18th century. This suggests that Scarlatti may not
even have known it.

La nova gelosia is an example of a canzona whose melancholic
character is reflected in sonatas by Scarlatti, for instance in K 174.
A clear example of a melody which turns up in Scarlatti's music
is the pastoral song Quanno nascette ninno. As with so much pastoral
music this has a siciliano rhythm, which is also used by Scarlatti in
his sonata K 513. However, he also includes its melody at the end of the
moderato section. This piece raises some questions, though. The liner-notes
state that this song was composed by Sant' Alfonso de Liguori in
the early 1700s. At that time he would have been barely ten years old.
That seems implausible, and if it was written later it is very unlikely
Scarlatti would ever have heard it. Moreover, Alfonso was not a composer,
but rather a theologian and bishop. The same tune turns up in the well-known
Christmas cantata O di Betlemme altera by Scarlatti's
father Alessandro. It seems more likely that the text was written by Sant'
Alfonso on an existing tune.

According to Francesco Cera Scarlatti also included in his works references
to Neapolitan operas whose arias often imitate traditional music. The
two extracts from operas by Vinci and Pergolesi are specimens of this
phenomenon; both works were written, by the way, well after Scarlatti
had left Naples.

The connection between the music of a composer such as Domenico Scarlatti
and traditional music is interesting from a historical point of view.
It can provide us with a deeper insight into a composer's development.
It could also have practical consequences in regard to performance practice.
Cera sees in the Sonata K 174 a reflection of the melancholic character
of the preceding song, La nova gelosia. That could well explain
the rather moderate tempo he has chosen for this sonata, marked 'allegro'.

This is definitely a most intriguing disc. Anyone interested in Scarlatti
should consider it, as it approaches his music from a rather uncommon
angle. However, even here it is nearly impossible to be sure which kind
of pieces Scarlatti knew. The music on this disc gives an idea of the
musical air he must have inhaled in his early years and which has left
its mark on his oeuvre.

The performances are convincing in every respect. Letizia Calandra is
a singer who specialises in early music and has a particular interest
in Neapolitan song. That is a prerequisite for a good performance of this
repertoire in the Neapolitan language. Ms Calandra's performance
is very natural. Cera delivers fine interpretations of the various sonatas
on a beautiful instrument, a copy of a Neapolitan harpsichord from around
1650. Michele Pasotti's guitar lends a special flavour to Lo
guarracino.